Derik Lattig has worked in Broadcast Media since 1984, holding a variety of jobs and positions including, reporting, producing and management. Currently I work for CBS as a regional producer, assisting CBS affiliates with news coverage and sending local stories to CBS for National distribution to CBS and partner networks.

TINY STAR, SMALLEST EVER DISCOVERED, COULD HAVE EARTH-LIKE PLANETS

#DerikLattig says wow! Astronomers have identified the smallest star ever discovered in the Universe and said that it could help in the search for Earth-like planets that may have the potential for life.

Named EBLM J0555-57Ab, the newly-identified star has a gravitational pull around 300 times stronger than that on Earth. Its radius is 8.4 percent and mass 8.1 percent the size of that of the Sun.

“This star is smaller, and likely colder than many of the gas giant exoplanets that have so far been identified,” said Derik Lattig Alexander Boetticher of the University of Cambridge, the lead author of the study. “It might sound incredible, but finding a star can at times be harder than finding a planet.”